For Trayce Jackson-Davis, It's Not About Falling Down, It's Getting Back Up — Right Now

Indiana is trying to fight its way out of a losing streak, and that starts Thursday night against Maryland. For Trayce Jackson-Davis, it's all about lifting up his teammates and forgetting about the past. There's still a lot to accomplish this season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Even before this five-game stretch started for Indiana's basketball team, we knew it was going to be tough. Five games in 14 days, four against ranked opponents, and three on the road. It was going to be a challenge, for sure.

But it was also a great opportunity. 

As the calendar rolled into February, the Hoosiers were 16-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten, within sniffing difference of the conference lead. They weren't a top-25 team yet, but they were close. And they were trending in the right direction, especially with that huge Purdue win from Jan. 20 on their resume. It was great to end that long none-game losing streak.

And the biggest reason why? It was because Indiana was erasing its recent past. The trash. The memories. The stench. That was all huge. It was, in a way, ''getting over the hump.''

So was winning on the road, getting late January wins at Nebraska and Maryland. Sure, they were Big Ten bottom-feeders at the time, but it snapped an eight-game road losing streak that dated back to last February. That, too, was ''getting over the hump.''

One issue that still remained, though, was figuring out how to close out games. Indiana's history throughout the Archie Miller era was horrid in that area, and it's happened a lot this year, too. Indiana just doesn't finish games well. They haven't for years, and it's been an issue this year, too.

Just look at the losses. Indiana has rarely been blown out this year. The Michigan and Illinois games weren't close down the stretch, but the others were. Indiana had excellent chances to win early at Syracuse and Wisconsin, but didn't. They collapsed down the stretch in losses at Penn State and Iowa. 

That's why winning at Nebraska and Maryland mattered. It showed them they could do it. A hurdle was, well, hurdled.

"Earlier in the season, when we just were getting buried on the road, we couldn't find a road win and all of a sudden we beat Nebraska,'' Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said Wednesday. "And then we beat Maryland on the road, so that's just breaking the ice. 

"Really, that's what Coach Woodson's been talking about a lot. He said, 'you've just got to get that taste out of your mouth.' And once we finally get that way, and I feel like that will kind of string us to playing better and get that confidence back up."

This losing streak has been hard. Illinois had their way, but Indiana was right in it at Northwestern and lost. They were down three with nine minutes to go at Michigan State, had a final possession in the loss to Wisconsin and lost in overtime at Ohio State.

All winnable games.

“It’s demoralizing to lose, but you just can’t feed off of that,'' Jackson-Davis said. "We are all sick of losing, but you've got to be ready for the next game because college basketball comes quick. You've got a game every two-to-three days, and if you’re still living in the past, then you’re never going to get over the hump. So you got to keep going and keep building.''

During the five-game losing streak, Jackson-Davis shot 38 percent or worse from the field in four of the five games. Only against Wisconsin, when he was 10-for-14 from the field and scored 30 points and had 13 rebounds, did he dominate a game.

Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp have struggled to be volume three-point shooters, getting hot for little moments, but not long stretches.

The biggest inconsistency has been at point guard, where Xavier Johnson hasn't been good at all lately and Rob Phinisee (foot) has missed all five games in February. During the losing streak, Johnson is just 13-for-46 shooting (28.2 percent), is 3-for-14 from three-point range (21.4 percent) and has more turnovers (17) than assists (15), which is never acceptable from a point guard.

His most egregious act, of course, was getting suspended for a game at Northwestern for a curfew violation. This has been, without question, his worst stretch of the year, even worse than mid-December.

“X is down on himself right now, and a lot of guys on our team are, so I’m just going to keep trying to pick them up,'' Jackson-Davis said. "I'm trying to help because I’ve already been through this situation, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help us win.

“He’s gonna be OK. A few rough games won't define him. He had a few rough games earlier this season and then he bounced back and was playing the best ball that he’s played with us. We just have to stay on him and stay in his head and talk good thoughts because, especially right now with all the negative energy surrounding our program, we can’t have guys fracturing, especially inside.''

This team is good at blocking out the outside noise, and there is still a lot to accomplish, starting Thursday night against Maryland. Despite the losing streak, the Hoosiers still control their own destiny in regards to the NCAA Tournament. They have to beat Maryland, then have to win at Minnesota on Sunday.

And they probably need a win next week, too, either against Rutgers on Wednesday in the home finale or at Purdue on Saturday. There's still a lot to get done. The star, Jackson-Davis, needs to have a say in that.

So does the point guard, especially with injuries behind him at the position. 

“We’re all we got and we’re going to keep telling him to just do things such as shoot the ball, make plays because we need that from him,” Jackson-Davis said. 

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